We Are Now a Composting Family

Kitchen and paper scraps about to be put to good use.

After many years of wanting one, I finally have a tumbling composter.  I’ve tried home composting in the past, without a lot of success.  I was notorious for forgetting to turn the pile, and my dogs also found it a great spot to dig.  I haven’t had a vegetable garden for a few years now, so I wasn’t as motivated to compost anyway.  This year, as a project with my daughter and to help cut down food costs, I am putting in a raised garden bed.  I started tomato and basil seeds last week, in preparation.  We will also be planting yellow zucchini & mesclun greens, and perhaps a couple other things.  The compost from this bin will come in very handy.

Compost Wizard Jr. was my choice.

Compost Wizard Jr. Review

After investigating a vast array of composting equipment, I chose a small low to the ground tumbling composter on rollers.  I checked out the tower styles and they do make sense, in that the stuff that is ready should be at the bottom and you can remove the compost from the bottom, but as I already mentioned I am bad about turning the compost, so it would take awhile.  I also saw balls that you roll around the yard, and composters that rotate in an upright position, both looked somewhat dangerous to have around a 3 year old.

The Compost Wizard Jr.  seemed just the right composting bin,  for our family.  It has a 7 cu. ft. capacity, sits horizontally on a roller base and has a screw on cap, and has holes in the sides for proper air flow.  The composter only weighs about 30 lbs, so I haven’t had trouble moving it.  I also liked that this tumbling composter  is made from recycled materials, right here in the USA.  I got the Compost Wizard Jr. Tumbling Composter, on sale from CSN Stores for $109 with free shipping.

Starting the Compost

A little old garden debris and a plant that died last year from frost, go into the compost.

Compost should be roughly 1 part “green” to 2 parts “brown” materials.  Veggie scraps and other recently living plant debris, coffee grounds and  egg shells are examples of “green” materials.  Paper, cardboard and long dead plant debris (such as the stuff I failed to clean up in the fall) would be considered “brown” materials.  Too much green and your compost will get stinky.  Too much brown and composting will be slow.  We are in a semi-urban area, so I erred on the side of a little extra brown in my mix, especially since I want to be able to throw in some more coffee grounds and other kitchen scraps.

My daughter "helping".

My daughter just thought playing around with the dead plants and sticks was cool.  I hope she likes the garden itself this much.

Disclosure: I received a credit from CSN Stores, which covered a portion of the purchase price.